On Jan. 18, TikTok was put on hold for U.S. users after the Biden administration banned the app through a bill signed by former President Joe Biden in April 2024. The app may be co-parented by a Chinese company, but it has become a place for Americans to practice freedom of speech, and its suspension chips away at a constitutional right.
The First Amendment is a core principle of the United States that should never be bent.
However, despite being a priority, there have been debates on when or if it is acceptable to limit freedom of speech to protect Americans from foreign threats. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 20 that would keep federal powers from enforcing the ban for 75 days.
The act against TikTok aimed to limit the spread of mobile applications developed and owned by companies in China in fear of damage to national security, foreign policy and the economy. According to the FBI, China is a threat to the U.S., but a singular app isn’t going to make or break the country. Tightening the boundaries of freedom of speech does more harm to Americans than a social media app ever could.
TikTok is a widely used platform for political expression and activism, especially among marginalized groups and younger audiences. TikTok has shaped U.S. politics, especially among young and upcoming voters. Banning an app that is a major outlet of speech goes against the First Amendment because it is one less place to practice self-expression. Aware of the attack on the First Amendment, a case was brought by TikTok petitioners to the Supreme Court that challenged the law. The court’s opinion stated that, “The challenged provisions of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act do not violate TikTok’s First Amendment rights,” but it does.
Instead of banning platforms over political and social fears, the focus should be on media literacy and self-control. The issue at hand isn’t foreign conflicts but mental health. Doom scrolling is addictive, comment sections bring insecurity and attention spans are decreasing because of quick reads and short videos.
People need to know how to protect themselves from social media. We should be adopting methods to limit time spent on social media, learn to ignore and catch false information and how to preserve our online image. Those are the real issues at hand, not to mention something we as a community can resolve.
Banning a platform can fix issues within that one application, but it doesn’t protect an individual from whatever platform they turn to next. Emphasizing the need for self-care, identifying misleading facts and knowing when enough is enough should be the government’s priority, not China’s ownership of TikTok.
